NO CELEBRATING IN CANADIENS DRESSING ROOM OVER SUBBAN SIGNING

Text Size BROSSARD, Que. — It wasn’t exactly smiles and high fives in the Montreal Canadiens dressing room on Tuesday over the news that P.K. Subban’s contract dispute had finally ended. In fact, the mood was surprisingly chilly on a team that started the lockout-delayed NHL regular season 3-1-0 without the flashy player who was their top defenceman last season.

Subban signed a two-year US$5.75 million contract Monday night and will rejoin the club Wednesday in Ottawa, although when he will play his first game has yet to be determined. Veteran rearguard Andrei Markov refused to talk about it, saying “He’s not in the room yet, so let’s talk about it when he’s going to be in the room.” And Josh Gorges, Subban’s regular defence partner, steered around questions on how he felt. “To be honest, I’m glad that we don’t have to talk about it any more,” said Gorges. “It’s a non-issue now and we can focus on getting ready to play the games without anything else to think about.”